Man With Cancer Who May Lose Penis, Prepares For Las Vegas Wedding

A 25-year-old man from Newcastle, England, who suffers from penile cancer and stands the risk of losing his manhood entirely, plans on marrying the love of his life and spending as much time as possible with his son and unborn daughter.

Dale Clarke had trouble urinating since June 2017. Suspecting it to be a mere infection, he discovered a lump the size of a grain of rice on the tip of his penis, Fox News reported.

When he sought medical help, the doctor told him the lump was the result of Clarke’s foreskin being too tight and that all he needed was to get circumcised. However, even after the circumcision, the lump continued to grow and in three weeks had increased to the size of a grape.

“I'd researched it and was convinced it was cancer," Clarke said. "The pain was unbelievable. It was that bad I would try not to go to the toilet. I was going about once a day and was crying in pain, it was the worst kind of burning."

When a specialist confirmed Clarke’s worst nightmare over phone after running a few tests, both he and his fiancé, Paige King, 24, broke down.

“He just looked at me and said 'Paige they're saying it's cancer'. We both broke down and just sobbed our hearts out,” King said, New Zealand Herald reported. "It was very tough on both of us but we tried to carry on as normal."

According to the doctors, Clarke is one of the youngest individuals to be treated for the rare form of cancer. He has already gone through five operations, nine rounds of radiotherapy and two rounds of chemotherapy, but despite every effort, the tumors kept coming back.

This led Clarke to accept the inevitable.

"It's absolutely destroyed me as a person. I struggle to walk to the toilet and my penis has no use other than to try and urinate from it. It has no feeling,” he said. “The cancer is busy eating away around it so I will probably lose it altogether soon. But I'm a solider. I've got my kids to think about and I can't be selfish and give up.”

He is not bothered by the fact that he might not be able to enjoy the kind of physical intimacy with his fiancé that he did before his diagnosis.

“Using it sexually – that part of my life is gone now and I've accepted it,” he said. “They could cut it all off and it wouldn't bother me, that's how far past it I am. I know it's terminal but I'm not planning to go anywhere for a few years. I want to concentrate on watching my children grow up.”

Clarke plans to marry King in Las Vegas and make memories together with the woman who has become his primary care-giver, over the last few months.

"She's been incredible. She works as a carer and it's like she's working two jobs because she's having to look after me,” he said. “I need somebody to help me all of the time because of my lack of mobility.”

The couple have a son together, Cole, and was on the process of planning a second child when they received news about Clarke’s devastating diagnosis. After they stopped trying, King discovered after two months that she was pregnant with a baby girl.

“I have come to terms with it but it's the thought of leaving my kids that's the worst thing,” Clarke said. “My son Cole has been in hospital with me a couple of times. He doesn't know too much – he knows I'm not well but he's too young to understand."

He also warned men not to ignore symptoms that could point to a terminal disease and seek the opinion of a doctor straight away. He added illnesses such as these had the power to snatch away all the little joys of life.

"I used to love football, I would play five or six times a week and go to the gym five times a week. It's horrible not being able to do that anymore,” he said. “It's amazing how much you take for granted. If I can walk around the block now it's a miracle.”